Copywriting · Translation
Marketing, website and app content translated between Arabic and English for audiences in the UAE, or rewritten through transcreation when a line needs to work in its own language. This is not legal or certified translation.
Marketing translation
A campaign written in English for Dubai often has to reach Arabic readers too, and a brand born in Arabic may need an English website for investors and expatriate customers. This Arabic English translation service for Dubai covers marketing, website and app content, so it reads naturally to people across the UAE. Where a line depends on wordplay, rhythm or culture, we transcreate it instead of translating it word for word.
Please read first
In the UAE, translation for official use is regulated by Federal Decree by Law No. (22) of 2022 Regulating the Translation Profession, published on the official UAE legislation portal. The law sets up a list of translators and translation houses kept by the Ministry of Justice. Article 3 is the part that matters for most businesses: no authority may carry out authentication or certification work, and no court may accept a translated document, bond or deed, unless the translation was done by a translator or translation house on that list.
This service is marketing and website translation. We are not on the Ministry of Justice list, we do not stamp documents, and our translations cannot be used for courts, notaries, attestation or government applications. For those, use a translator licensed by the UAE Ministry of Justice.
Choosing the approach
Not every text should be translated the same way. We agree the approach per content type before starting, because it changes both the result and the review you will need to do.
| Approach | What it keeps | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Translation | Meaning, facts and structure of the source | Service descriptions, FAQs, specifications, app help text, policies already approved by your adviser |
| Transcreation | The intent and the reaction you want, not the words | Headlines, slogans, ad copy, social captions, anything built on a pun or a cultural reference |
| Localisation | The message, adjusted for local formats and expectations | Websites and apps: dates, numerals, addresses, units, names and examples that fit the UAE |
| Native copywriting | Only the brief | Key campaign pages where the Arabic version deserves its own draft, see website content writing |
Arabic details
Most awkward Arabic marketing copy is not wrong. It simply leaves a series of small decisions to chance. We settle them in a style sheet at the start of the project.
Arabic marks gender in “you” and in verbs. Choose masculine, feminine, plural or a neutral construction, and apply it consistently.
Modern Standard Arabic for formal and regional content, a lighter tone for lifestyle brands. The same brand can use both, in different channels.
Gregorian or Hijri dates where relevant, and Western digits or Arabic Indic digits, chosen once for the whole site.
Kept in Latin script, transliterated, or translated. Each name gets one agreed form in the glossary.
Idioms, humour, gestures and holiday references that work in English may not travel, and are rewritten rather than translated.
Arabic often runs to a different length. We check the text in the real layout for breaks, mirrored icons and mixed direction lines.
Search and machine translation
Publishing machine translated pages without a human rewrite is tempting for large sites. Google’s spam policies describe scaled content abuse as generating many pages primarily to manipulate search rankings rather than help users, and list among the examples content made with automated transformations such as synonymising, translating or other obfuscation techniques, where little value is added. A properly edited translation that serves Arabic readers is a different thing, but the difference has to be real.
Google’s guidance on multilingual sites adds practical rules for how translated pages are published: a separate URL for each language version, hreflang annotations to connect them, a single language for content and navigation on each page, and no automatic redirects that stop users or search engines reaching other versions. Translating only the menus while the main content stays in one language is described as a poor experience.
A translated page should be one an Arabic reader would choose to read, not one a tool produced.
How it runs
Context is what separates a usable translation from a literal one, so most of the preparation is about giving the translator the full picture.
Final approved source text, plus screenshots, links or designs showing where every line appears.
Key terms and the Arabic decisions above, approved by you before translation starts.
Each content type handled with the approach agreed, with alternatives offered for headlines.
A line by line check that nothing is missing, added or changed in meaning.
The text read on the staging site, app build or final artwork, in its real layout.
For app and interface strings, where length and grammar rules matter most, see UX writing. Marketplace listings in both languages are covered by product description writing, and social posts by social media copywriting. If the Arabic site itself needs building, see web design. Every writing service is on the copywriting services hub.
From the blog
Straight answers
No. Documents that a court, notary or government authority must accept need a translator or translation house registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice, and this service is not one. We are happy to translate the marketing material that goes around those documents.
Translation keeps the meaning and, as far as possible, the structure of the source. Transcreation keeps the intent and effect, and is free to change the words, the image reference or the joke entirely. Headlines and slogans usually need transcreation; specifications and help text usually need translation.
Tools can be useful for terminology checks and consistency, but we do not publish raw machine output. Every line is written or rewritten by a person who reads both languages, and checked in the place it will appear.
Both: English into Arabic for brands reaching Arabic speaking customers, and Arabic into English for government linked, family owned and regional brands whose original material is in Arabic.
We build a glossary at the start: product names, service names, job titles and any term with a preferred Arabic form. It is shared with you for approval and then used for every page, email and app string that follows.
Sources
Fixed price, in writing
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